A Quad Cities manager wins league's annual award for the first time since 1990
DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 24, 2015) - For the first time as a Houston Astros affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits have two Midwest League Postseason All-Stars, and for the first time in 25 years, a Quad Cities manager is the Midwest League Manager of the Year. Selected by the league's 16 field managers and announced on Monday, the team includes catcher Jacob Nottingham and third baseman Nick Tanielu - both Western Division starters in the All-Star Game in June - and first-year manager Josh Bonifay.
While the River Bandits have two postseason All-Stars for the first time since 2012 and postseason All-Stars in four consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002, the club has its first Manager of the Year since 1990. Bonifay becomes the third manager in Quad Cities franchise history to win the league's annual award. Previous Quad Cities winners (both winning in their only seasons as Quad Cities managers) were George Enright of the 1982 Quad City Cubs and Don Long, who led the 1990 Quad City Angels to the league title.
Two years after winning Appalachian League Manager of the Year in his first season as a professional manager with the rookie-level Greeneville Astros, Bonifay has led the River Bandits to their fourth playoff berth in six seasons and their best first half in franchise history (45-23) to win the Midwest Western Division first half this season. While using a franchise-record 32 pitchers this season, Quad Cities has the best record of any team in Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball at 35 games above .500 (79-44) through Sunday.
Nottingham, 20, played 59 games (39 as a catcher) with Quad Cities through June 27 before being promoted to Class-A Advanced Lancaster. The Astros traded Nottingham and teammate and 2015 River Bandits right-hander Daniel Mengden to the Oakland Athletics for major league left-hander Scott Kazmir on July 23. Houston's sixth-round pick in 2013 out of Redlands (Calif.) High School, Nottingham led the Midwest League in slugging percentage (.543) and extra-base hits (29), ranked second in batting average (.326) and total bases (125), and ranked fourth in RBIs (46) before his promotion to the California League. His 10 home runs are the most by a River Bandit this season. In addition to starting the All-Star Game and competing in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby, Nottingham was the Quad Cities Player of the Month in May, when he led the team with a .355 batting average, 13 extra-base hits, four home runs, 20 RBIs, a .591 slugging percentage and .997 on-base-plus slugging (OPS) in 23 games.
Tanielu, 22, carries a .311 batting average that currently ranks second in the Midwest League - to league Most Valuable Player Ryan McBroom of Lansing - and seventh among Astros minor leaguers. The Huntsville, Ala., native's team-high 64 RBIs rank fifth in the league, and his .790 OPS ranks sixth. Houston's 14th round pick in 2014 out of Washington State University, Tanielu also leads Quad Cities this season in at-bats (396), hits (123), extra-base hits (34), doubles (25), total bases (171) and slugging percentage (.432). In 104 games (tying the team high), Tanielu has played 85 games at third base, 11 at first base and six at second base. Tanielu was the Quad Cities Player of the Month in July, when he hit .340 (34-for-100) with 11 doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs in 27 games.
The River Bandits have had six postseason All-Stars the past four seasons, including outfielder Anthony Garcia (2012), designated hitter Colin Walsh (2012), shortstop Carlos Correa (2013), and outfielder Brett Phillips (2014). In nine seasons as a Houston Astros affiliate, Quad Cities has had seven postseason All-Stars. In the River Bandits' first affiliation with Houston (1993-98), outfielder Richard Hidalgo (1994), left-handed pitcher Tony Mounce (1995) and designated hitter Jim Thomas (1998) were named postseason All-Stars.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits open a six-game homestand with Military Monday presented by 97X and ESPN 93.5. All veterans and active military may purchase up to four bleacher tickets for $1 each to attend the 7 p.m. game, with gates opening at 6 p.m. Monday. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: With the installation of the Ferris Wheel, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931, and this year the club is matching that effort by opening three new areas. A two-tiered special group deck immediately behind and overlooking the corn field opened in June. A new 11,000-square-foot concourse expansion down the third-base line will open late August. Finally, the club has expanded the children's play area by an additional 5,500 square feet down the right-field line, with additional bounce houses and the newest ride - Spin Zone Bumper Cars - as the latest attraction.
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